Nick Acosta at Oahu Ukulele Festival

Cecilio and Kapono was my favorite act at last months ukulele festival but this kid Nick Acosta was by far the most impressive...

Wu: The Story Of The Wu-Tang Clan

As misguided as it was, I confess that one of my first really empowering moments as an Asian American kid came when 36 Chambers dropped in middle school. Just like The Racial Draft I embraced Wu-Tang as they helped me define my own identity within hip hop at that time. C'mon dawg, Wu-Tang and Theo on The Beat? My teenage Asian masculinity had arrived!

Anyway, I just watched Wu: The Story Of The Wu-Tang Clan. Despite the low budget production, I thought the film was satisfying. The archival footage and interviews are classic, especially for a nostalgic Wu fan. My main critique is director Gerald Barclay's decision to put himself in the film, it just wasn't needed.

The Case for Community-Owned Bay Area Sports

"How much longer are we going to take being held hostage by shady, out of touch owners who don’t care about the communities where the teams reside? It’s time to take our teams back. It’s time to talk about municipalization."

The homie Kori Chen teamed up with his friend James Tracy to write a great article titled The Case for Community-Owned Bay Area Sports. Kori loves sports, loves The Town, and is a dedicated community organizer, all of which he exhibits in his article. On top of all that, the brotha gots vision. Hopefully we'll be reading more articles from him in the future.

Netflix Worthy: Facing Ali

Based on the book with the same name, Facing Ali is one of my favorite docs I've seen this year. I might be a little biased since I end up loving most films or books about Ali, but the fact that so much has been done on the legend over the years, makes this film even more impressive. We have heard all the soundbites and seen all the footage before, but it's the personality and vulnerability in the interviews that make this film. I'm convinced there are few things more entertaining than when old boxers talk story.



The use of text and the way the interviews were shot create a style that is both nostalgic and new. Hands down, the best interview in the film is with Leon Spinks. Dude is hilarious! When talking about Ali's politicization and name change he says:
"After Ali changed it from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, everybody else started turning to Muslim. My name is Cooly Clala Cleely or Hooly Hooly or Walla Walla. I mean what the fuck is that? Well, my name's Leon and there ain't nothing white about that."

If your a fan of Ali I would highly suggest reading Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties and watching When We Were Kings. But you probably have already.